Zach Wilson, the quarterback of the Philadelphia Eagles, has been struggling to find his footing in an NFL that is dominated by Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers.
The zach wilson vs mac jones fantasy is a debate that has been going on for a while. Zach Wilson was drafted in the 3rd round of the 2018 NFL Draft, but he is being compared to Mac Jones who was drafted in the 4th round.
In the 2021 NFL draft, the New York Jets chose BYU quarterback Zach Wilson second overall. The New England Patriots selected Mac Jones from Alabama with the 13th overall selection. The two (along with other 2021 first-round picks Trevor Lawrence, Trey Lance, and Justin Fields) will now be forever connected in the NFL. Wilson and Jones are in a different situation than the rest of the team since they are now AFC East opponents.
Trent Dilfer, a former Super Bowl champion quarterback, recently joined podcast host Ryen Russillo to assess how the first-round rookies have performed through three games. While the verdict on all of them is still out, Dilfer pointed out one thing Jones does that Wilson has to master.
So far in their rookie seasons, Mac Jones has surpassed Zach Wilson.
Zach Wilson and Mac Jones (L-R) | Photos by Justin Edmonds/Getty Images and Elsa/Getty Images.
In Week 2, Zach Wilson and Mac Jones went head-to-head. The New England Patriots defeated the New York Jets 25-6, and the No. 15 selection surpassed the Jets’ No. 2 pick by a significant margin.
Jones had a solid but unspectacular performance that was more than enough to help his side win the game. His final throwing stats were 22-of-33 for 186 yards. He was sacked three times and had no touchdowns or interceptions.
His opponent had a dreadful performance.
Wilson completed 19 of 33 passes for 210 yards and no touchdowns. The Patriots defense recorded four sacks and four interceptions on the rookie quarterback, taking up his first two passes and four of his first ten.
The remainder of the season has followed a similar pattern. Jones’ total statistics are 81-of-120 (67.4%), 737 yards, two touchdowns, and three interceptions. Wilson has 628 yards and two touchdowns on 58-of-105 (55.2 percent) passing. He’s also the league’s most sacked quarterback (15) and is tied with No. 1 overall selection Lawrence for the most interceptions (7).
Wilson must imitate Jones in a key manner, according to Trent Dilfer, or he will be a failure.
Wilson, according to Trent Dilfer, who won the Super Bowl with the Baltimore Ravens in 2000, needs to learn from New England Patriots quarterbacks. Not only from former quarterback Tom Brady, but also from Jones.
The Jets quarterback’s greatest issue, according to Dilfer, is that he passes up excellent, safe throws in favor of something “bigger and better” downfield. It was a problem for the former BYU quarterback in college, and it’s much worse in the pros.
Wilson, he claims, has to quit “working things down instead of up.” This implies that before searching for the home run pass, the quarterback should assess the short passes first. Brady excels at it, according to Dilfer, and his successor in New England is performing well so far in his rookie season.
Wilson, according to the former ESPN commentator turned high-school coach:
Play the long game and get the ball out of your hands. He’ll be fantastic if he learns that. What if he doesn’t learn that and the bouncing around and the eyes continue to do this? Eyes of Mac Jones: Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom [clicking sound] Zach Wilson’s eyes. … If it isn’t corrected, the game is over. It’s not simply about the next team. Bust. Nobody is skilled enough to play that way because you aren’t talented enough.
Trent Dilfer on Mac Jones and Zach Wilson
The term “bust” is a strong one to use to a quarterback who has only been in three games, but as a former NFL quarterback, Dilfer knows how crucial these route-reading principles are to success at the position, which Jones has but Wilson lacks.
On Sunday, October 24, the AFC East rivals will square off one again.
For better or worse, Zach Wilson and the Jets will face Mac Jones and the Patriots again only four weeks after their initial encounter. At Week 7, the two teams will meet again in Foxborough.
Wilson should have some time to improve between now and then. This week, he plays the weak Tennessee Titans defense, the all-around awful Atlanta Falcons in Week 5, and then has a bye before the next Patriots game.
Jones has a more difficult road ahead of him. This week, he faces the guy to whom he will forever be compared in Tom Brady (who takes a strong Buccaneers defense with him) and the undermanned but over-performing Dallas Cowboys defense in Week 6. He does have the Houston Texans in between, but it’s a difficult stretch for him.
The two rookie quarterbacks will enter Game 2 as considerably better developed NFL quarterbacks than they were in Game 1. Wilson may have a chance to redeem himself.
If Wilson continues to struggle — particularly if it’s because he’s still trying to do too much, as Dilfer suggests — this game may cement Wilson’s fate as a draft failure, as Dilfer said.
Pro Football Reference provided all stats.
RELATED: Could TV Cameras Have Captured the Exact Moment? Mac Jones snatched Cam Newton’s job.
Justin Fields is a former Super Bowl winning quarterback who has been watching Zach Wilson since he was in high school. Fields believes that Wilson needs to become more like Mac Jones if he wants to live up to his potential. Reference: justin fields.
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